The Wicklow 200 (2009) Thread

rughdh

steinone wrote: »

The main rule I was wondering about was the whole two brake rule.

The rule is whatever is legal on a public road.

steinone wrote: »

Im trying to think how he might have put a brake(never mind two) on it(the penny farthing btw). Haha

Not sure if he had brakes, but the photo is here
(you may need to scroll down)

rughdh

AstraMonti wrote: »

I am looking forward to it, i am struggling to find time for some serious hill training but i want to do it. Are stops allowed and is there a time limit to finish it?

Stops are certainly allowed, some are even compulsory (for card scanning). You can stop as often as you need to. The time allowed is 14 hours, but if you leave at 6am you have 15 hours.

Big Bob

Tackleberry wrote: »

Which is the "harder" side of the Shay Elliott and SleiveMann?

Has anyone ever taken the valley road in between the two that seems to be a deadend after 5 miles or so - if so whats it like?

I did both when training for the 200 last year and they're practically back to back. it's going to be a wipe out at that stage of the course. if anyone is giong down there to do slieve mann they should consider taking in Glenmalure as well.
We parked in Laragh and went over the wicklow gap to Donnard from there to slieve mann and we thought we would be heading straight back to Laragh but found Glenmalure was in our way and had no choice but climb it . Boy did I nearly cry that day

Ghost Rider

Is it feasible, as part of one's training, to cycle from Dublin city centre to Slieve Maan/Glenmalure, do the climbs and then cycle home? Or would that be tantamount to doing the whole course?

steinone

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

NeilMcEoghain is doing it on a fixie, I'd imagine he is using brakes.

Fair play if you do it steinone.

I think I will do it:P
I was talking to Neil at last fridays alleycat and managed to talk to him about anything but it..ha.
As for road legality as far as I know two methods of braking are necessary(front brake and direct drive) so I should be grand as I am:P.
Being...well a fixed gear rider that doesnt do any competitive events other than bike polo I dont really have much cycling specific gear, what would be the recommended gear needed(bib shorts? cream?)?
I assume a messenger bag would be out of the question..

Big Bob

It would make good sense to take a look at slieve maan and glenmalure, but looking at the map on the mapmy run link i can't see any road that would take you to the correct side of slieve maan without going over the wicklow gap and if you do that your looking at close to 200k, and personaly I wouldn't do 200k unless I had to, it's a long ride and you wouldn't even get a meddle at the end.

NeilMcEoigheann

I'm actually seriously considering putting a back brake on as I can imagine my legs splitting at the knees if I tried with just the front break, (it doesn't get much use and its not too strong)
i think i might head out over the weekend on the fixie just to test the waters so to speak

Big Bob

steinone wrote: »

I think I will do it:P
I was talking to Neil at last fridays alleycat and managed to talk to him about anything but it..ha.
As for road legality as far as I know two methods of braking are necessary(front brake and direct drive) so I should be grand as I am:P.
Being...well a fixed gear rider that doesnt do any competitive events other than bike polo I dont really have much cycling specific gear, what would be the recommended gear needed(bib shorts? cream?)?
I assume a messenger bag would be out of the question..

Will you guys please write your names on the soles of your shoes so I'll know who I'm pulling out of the bogs

steinone

Big Bob wrote: »

Will you guys please write your names on the soles of your shoes so I'll know who I'm pulling out of the bogs

Will do:D

Neil, you up for me tagging along with you....To wherever your going lol.

Chips Lovell

Ghost Rider wrote: »

Is it feasible, as part of one's training, to cycle from Dublin city centre to Slieve Maan/Glenmalure, do the climbs and then cycle home? Or would that be tantamount to doing the whole course?

Big Bob wrote: »

It would make good sense to take a look at slieve maan and glenmalure, but looking at the map on the mapmy run link i can't see any road that would take you to the correct side of slieve maan without going over the wicklow gap and if you do that your looking at close to 200k, and personaly I wouldn't do 200k unless I had to, it's a long ride and you wouldn't even get a meddle at the end.

It's possible to go straight down from Dublin and over the two from the correct side and straight back. It's about 145km and no, you don't have to do the Wicklow Gap. Here's the way I'd go.

alfalad

Well this thread certainly is popular, only started after 6 yesterday evening and 3 pages already!
And as for the photo, thats a pretty good idea I'll be doing it for the laugh (only i have a feeling it will be other people laughing as they see me cry on some of the climbs!)!

One question though is it limited how many people can do it? Haven't entered yet so don't want to find it's full!

TinyExplosions

The 100 is certainly doable on a fixie without too much hassle -there's really very little climbing involved in it (which is why I'd suggest the 200 to you penexpers!)

As for advice, I would try and stay in a bunch at every opportunity-you save so much energy that it's madness not to try and pick up a draft when you can.

Raam

Ghost Rider wrote: »

Is it feasible, as part of one's training, to cycle from Dublin city centre to Slieve Maan/Glenmalure, do the climbs and then cycle home? Or would that be tantamount to doing the whole course?

I've done this with RogerB a few times. It's a long day out, but it's really great training.

blorg

@Tackleberry- the Shay Elliot side of Slieve Maan (the way the W200 descends) is the hard one in my opinion, in fact it is probably the hardest climb in Wicklow. Long and steep in places.

I've never been up the Slieve Maan side of the Shay Elliot but I reckon it is probably the harder one- the other side is pretty easy while the descent down there was fast. The Shay Elliot is shorter than Slieve Maan though.

@steinone- I'd fit a back brake if you can, you will appreciate it on the looooong descents. Have you cycled the Fuji up the mountains before? What gearing do you use? I have 46-17 (73.1") which personally I think is optimal for this sort of thing, will get you up all the hills while not killing you on the descents.

Chips Lovell

blorg wrote: »

I've never been up the Slieve Maan side of the Shay Elliot but I reckon it is probably the harder one- the other side is pretty easy while the descent down there was fast. The Shay Elliot is shorter than Slieve Maan though.

Yes, the southern side of the Shay Elliot is the hard one. I've done the northern side is very easy.

Wylie Luke

Oh man I'm in trouble (there are zero hills in Galway to practice on) but kinda looking forward to this little jolly...

Big Bob

alfalad wrote: »

Well this thread certainly is popular, only started after 6 yesterday evening and 3 pages already!
And as for the photo, thats a pretty good idea I'll be doing it for the laugh (only i have a feeling it will be other people laughing as they see me cry on some of the climbs!)!

One question though is it limited how many people can do it? Haven't entered yet so don't want to find it's full!

I think last year was limited to around 1,700 and it was over subscribed so if you are going to do it there is no point in waiting until the last minute.

Big Bob

Wylie Luke wrote: »

Oh man I'm in trouble (there are zero hills in Galway to practice on) but kinda looking forward to this little jolly...

I've got the same problem so I asked the lads on here for some advice,
Here's a link to there suggestions
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055489153

Big Bob

steinone wrote: »

I think I will do it:P
I was talking to Neil at last fridays alleycat and managed to talk to him about anything but it..ha.
As for road legality as far as I know two methods of braking are necessary(front brake and direct drive) so I should be grand as I am:P.
Being...well a fixed gear rider that doesnt do any competitive events other than bike polo I dont really have much cycling specific gear, what would be the recommended gear needed(bib shorts? cream?)?
I assume a messenger bag would be out of the question..

Keep an eye on the aldi or lidl websites i bought cycling shades, rain/wind breaker( very light and perfect for the job) cycling tops, saddle bag for spare tubes tyre wrenches ( money for taxi home just in case ) I probably got the lot for about 40-50e. I didn't buy the shorts or tights as they looked a bit crappy so i invested in decent ones.

Greyspoke

Regarding checking out the Slieve Maan and Shay Elliot climbs without completely wrecking yourself, I'd suggest driving down to Roundwood or Laragh and riding from there.
Then head down to Rathdrum from Laragh and on to Aughrim. Shortly after Aughrim, turn right and take the road to Aghavannagh which brings you to the start of the Slieve Maan climb. For a longer loop, continue from Aughrim to Tinahely and then head north west through Hacketstown to Kiltegan where you can pick up the W200 route and take a longer run in to the big climbs.
I thinks it's important psychologically to be reasonably fresh the first time you do those climbs to give you the confidence that you can do them without too much trouble (hopefully!) I plan on doing this sometime in the next month or so.

Ghost Rider

Sounds like a plan. The one thing I don't want to do is pre-defeat myself!

Greyspoke wrote: »

Regarding checking out the Slieve Maan and Shay Elliot climbs without completely wrecking yourself, I'd suggest driving down to Roundwood or Laragh and riding from there.
Then head down to Rathdrum from Laragh and on to Aughrim. Shortly after Aughrim, turn right and take the road to Aghavannagh which brings you to the start of the Slieve Maan climb. For a longer loop, continue from Aughrim to Tinahely and then head north west through Hacketstown to Kiltegan where you can pick up the W200 route and take a longer run in to the big climbs.
I thinks it's important psychologically to be reasonably fresh the first time you do those climbs to give you the confidence that you can do them without too much trouble (hopefully!) I plan on doing this sometime in the next month or so.

trek climber

el tonto wrote: »

About 175km from The Square and probably a harder day in the saddle than the W200. Is that what you're looking for?

No - not looking for anything that long, my plan was to drive to Tallaght and do a route from there. Somewhere in the region of 100-120km and looking to include as many of the climbs from the 200 in that distance as possible. Only thing is, the route I outlined in earlier post Sally - Laragh - Wicklow is the only one I am familiar with. Dont particularly want to get lost.

Any suggestions ?

Esroh

Wylie Luke wrote: »

Oh man I'm in trouble (there are zero hills in Galway to practice on) but kinda looking forward to this little jolly...

If you go round the Moycullen/Spiddal loop and climb hard you will be fine.And on a long day head for Ballyvaughan or roud the Corrib theres plenty of short sharp shocks to attack.
Use the
Lap of Loughs Mask and NaFooey May 16th 55mls(Maumtrasna,Ail Dubh,Maumean.)
Tour de Corrib May 24th 75mls (Leckareva,Maumean,)
as prep as you can get into good groups that will give you hard workouts just weeks b4:D

Wylie Luke

Cheers guys, having done the Moycullen/Spiddal loop and the Lough Corrib loop I'm aware of the hills and just dont feel their quite up to some of the mountain climbs, thought I was ok going into the ring of Kerrry then BAM, Molls gap... that just happened! Still, looking forward to the challenge (really just physcing myself up!!!!)

kincsem

I was trying to use mapmyride to plot the Wicklow 200 route using the course description on the Wicklow200 site but got lost in the Donard / Rathangan "triangle. That area is not well described on Wicklow 200.

Anyway, I noticed an interesting feature on the mapmyride site. You can download elevation data for a route you plot. It gave 2509 distance and elevation points for the W200 route, so I used the info to calculate the gradient for each section (each of the 2509 sections averages 75 metres).

Below are the climbs.

kincsem

From around the granite cottage near Lough Bray to the top of the climb (which is followed by about 4km of flat road to the sally gap crossroads).

gradient metres
3.7% 89
4.3% 49
2.6% 89
3.2% 68
4.4% 68
3.4% 71
2.5% 97
4.0% 85
7.5% 55
5.6% 79
4.6% 82
7.1% 59
8.2% 74
7.5% 83
6.4% 90
10.3% 62
8.7% 62
6.8% 85
5.5% 100
8.9% 64
10.2% 65
12.3% 64
14.3% 65
7.6% 74
5.9% 81
7.1% 72
6.0% 72
5.4% 76
5.6% 72
4.1% 97
4.8% 66
4.5% 67
2.7% 119

2501

kincsem

I don't like Slieve Maan

gradient metres
2.5% 68
0.7% 67
0.9% 67
1.2% 68
2.1% 76
3.8% 74
4.3% 74
3.7% 82
5.6% 71
4.0% 122
9.6% 55
9.5% 55
6.0% 83
6.4% 103
12.1% 63
9.8% 63
11.5% 62
11.3% 63
9.1% 81
9.5% 73
8.4% 74
8.9% 73
9.6% 74
12.1% 73
8.9% 74
6.5% 98
9.0% 70
5.9% 71
8.0% 70
8.1% 70
8.9% 71
6.3% 104
9.7% 66
6.3% 67
8.9% 66
4.1% 118
10.6% 63
8.9% 62
9.4% 63
9.0% 62
5.7% 83
6.2% 72
6.3% 72
4.7% 72
4.6% 129
6.9% 59
6.5% 60
4.2% 59
1.3% 110
0.9% 69

3744

kincsem

Named after the first Irishman to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France.
This comes immediately after the Slieve Maan climb.

gradient metres
1.1% 61
3.6% 61
5.3% 60
4.8% 79
5.2% 88
12.4% 70
7.6% 71
8.4% 70
7.3% 71
9.7% 70
7.6% 71
8.3% 76
5.3% 74
8.1% 75
5.5% 74
8.3% 75
3.4% 74
7.3% 74
2.5% 77
4.3% 74
5.7% 74
5.3% 75
6.8% 74
7.4% 103
10.9% 65
9.7% 66
9.1% 65
8.7% 79
8.4% 73
8.9% 73
9.5% 74
7.5% 102
9.8% 62
11.0% 62
6.6% 88
7.5% 71
6.8% 72
7.4% 72
6.2% 72
5.7% 72
4.2% 105
5.2% 67
2.9% 68
1.6% 67

3246

kincsem

This is the one big climb in the Wicklow 100, early in the outward trip.
This is from the road junction at the bottom, to the top of the climb.

gradient metres
-0.7% 82
2.7% 80
4.6% 79
9.0% 80
2.3% 79
3.0% 80
4.9% 87
6.0% 78
7.3% 79
9.9% 78
9.6% 79
5.5% 82
6.8% 79
2.8% 79
3.9% 80
6.4% 80
7.1% 79
12.0% 80
13.6% 81
9.9% 80
2.3% 79
0.0% 80
2.6% 81
3.9% 79
8.1% 86
15.9% 76
12.8% 79
6.0% 82

2243

Ryaner

kincsem wrote: »

Named after the first Irishman to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France.
This comes immediately after the Slieve Maan climb.

gradient metres
1.1% 61
3.6% 61
5.3% 60
4.8% 79
5.2% 88
12.4% 70
7.6% 71
8.4% 70
7.3% 71
9.7% 70
7.6% 71
8.3% 76
5.3% 74
8.1% 75
5.5% 74
8.3% 75
3.4% 74
7.3% 74
2.5% 77
4.3% 74
5.7% 74
5.3% 75
6.8% 74
7.4% 103
10.9% 65
9.7% 66
9.1% 65
8.7% 79
8.4% 73
8.9% 73
9.5% 74
7.5% 102
9.8% 62
11.0% 62
6.6% 88
7.5% 71
6.8% 72
7.4% 72
6.2% 72
5.7% 72
4.2% 105
5.2% 67
2.9% 68
1.6% 67

3246

One climb on the route has over 3000m of climbing? Surely this can't be right.